PlayStation 3 and 4 owners can look forward to getting their hands on a stripped down, but free to play, version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 next month

While the critical response to this year's footie games has seen Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer begin to edge ahead of the FIFA series in terms of review scores, it's EA Sports' sporting sim that continues to dominate the sales figures, knocking PES out of the park yet again. Rather than being deflated by the result, however, Konami has come up with a novel approach to entice more gamers to try out their own take on the beautiful game - they're going to be offering a stripped down, free to play version of this year's installment exclusively to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 owners starting next month.

While it looks like little more than an extended demo on paper, restricted as it is to just seven teams, it'll also offer players access to the game's My Club mode, which allows them to build their own teams from scratch by buying players with in-game currency either earned or purchased. Feedback on the idea has been mixed so far, with some already deciding that it's little more than an attempt to cash in on a demo that features microtransactions, but it's nevertheless a great way for players to get their hands on the title to see how it measures up to this year's FIFA when it comes down to gameplay. And if you haven't already played it, the answer is "very, very well".

It's not going to be for everyone, and it'll undoubtedly ruffle a few feathers, but for our money it's a smart way to expose more players to a vastly improved PES experience when the free to play version launches on December 8th.